A lengthy investigation by NASA into last year’s Toyota Motor Corp. recalls found that engine electronics played no role in incidents of sudden, unintended acceleration of its cars, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

The report, released by the Transportation Department to settle persistent questions over the Toyota recalls, said the auto maker had identified the only two causes of the incidents: defective gas pedals and interfering floor mats.

The 10-month-old inquiry answers a key question hanging over the Japanese auto maker since its safety crisis a year ago. It also has broader implications for the auto industry, which has sought to put to rest questions over vehicle electronics as it increasingly integrates technology in cars.

“NASA engineers found no electronic flaws in Toyota vehicles capable of producing the large throttle openings required to create dangerous high-speed unintended acceleration incidents,” the DOT said in a statement.

Toyota, which has paid $49 million in U.S. fines related to the recalls to settle claims that it hid defects from regulators, has maintained that no problems with its electronics exist. But the questions from Democratic lawmakers and consumer advocates grew so loud last year that the Transportation Department enlisted space engineers at NASA to look into the matter.

Tuesday’s report has been long anticipated by not just Toyota, but the broader auto industry, which is increasingly integrating electronics into the design of vehicles to bring new technology to cars. The industry maintains that electronics makes cars safer, and auto makers have feared that a government report finding fault with electronics could open them up to product-liability lawsuits and more government regulation.

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(Source: WSJ)